The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to gasification, and, in particular, to accommodating differential thermal expansion in such applications as a radiant syngas cooler (RSC), quench gasifier, convective cooler, heat exchanger, or other applications wherein internal tubes exit a pressure vessel.
In general, syngas coolers are used to cool syngas from a gasifier, which produces the syngas via a gasification reaction. As such, syngas coolers may be used in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants or a coal to chemical plant to cool the syngas stream from the gasifier for further processing of the syngas downstream, while producing high pressure steam which can be used throughout the plant. The syngas cooler may cool product syngas by transferring at least some of the syngas heat to a cooling fluid. Thus, to achieve syngas cooling, components within the syngas coolers may be subjected to significant thermal gradients, particularly during start-up processes. Thermal gradients may result in differential thermal expansion of components within the syngas cooler, which may cause thermal stress to components of the syngas cooler. However, to preclude potential damage to components, the syngas cooler design may incorporate advanced assembly methods and pipe routing to accommodate for thermal expansion. Unfortunately, these advanced assembly methods may hinder the ability to achieve complete non-destructive inspection of the pipe and vessel connection. Further, advanced assembly methods may be costly and time consuming.